Count the whole floor
with one hand on the scanner.
UpChannels starts a stock count in one click, then lets your team walk the floor with a wireless barcode scanner without looking at or touching the computer — and ends with a report that explains every difference, says what to do about it, and names who counted what.
The screen is for across the aisle, not for reading
Use a wireless scanner in keyboard mode, with or without an Enter at the end of each scan — a test code on the start screen checks the setup before the walk.
Built for not looking
A last-scan panel large enough to read from down the aisle, a full-screen colour flash, a distinct sound for each result and an optional spoken one. If the window loses focus — the one thing a keyboard-mode scanner cannot survive — it alarms and shows “Click here to keep scanning”.
No scan dropped
Scans go into a queue, so a fast run of beeps is never lost while one is being looked up. A printable control sheet of command barcodes handles undo, “twelve of this”, switching storage area, pause and “how many left” without touching the keyboard.
A Wi-Fi drop loses nothing
Every scan is saved on the device before it is sent, and a badge shows how many are still waiting. Scans survive a reload and are resent until the server confirms them, and a count cannot be posted while a device still holds unsent scans unless you choose to.
Several people, one count
Anyone on the team can resume a running count from any device, and each device sees the others’ progress within seconds. If two people scan the same serial, one counts and the other hears “Already counted”.
Blind when you want it
Start a blind count and the expected quantities stay hidden while people scan, so the count records what is on the shelf rather than what the screen says should be.
Exact matches only
A code matches a serial, a unit barcode, a variant or a product barcode, UPC, EAN, GTIN or SKU exactly — never “contains”. A code shared by two products is shown to a person to decide, never guessed.
Four answers, each with its own sound
A tracked product scanned by its product barcode rather than its serial still counts, and the report says how many units were counted without a serial so you can confirm which ones. The barcode on a tag printed from Price Tags scans here too.
A count that knows which serial is missing writes off that serial
Finishing always happens at the computer, on purpose. The review shows every line with its proposed action, and every default can be changed before anyone posts.
Missing units are named, not picked. A tracked unit that should be on the floor and was not scanned defaults to Mark missing: it comes off sale and off the on-hand count with the write-off booked, and it can be marked available again when it turns up. Scrapping is only ever an explicit choice for that unit. A unit reserved for a customer order is never actioned on its own — the report puts it at the top with the order it belongs to.
It counts what the shelf held when it was scanned. The count is compared with on-hand stock, because stock held for an order is still physically there. A sale rung up after a shelf was scanned does not turn into a false shortfall. A shortfall that stock held for customer orders could explain, and an overage that an unreceived purchase order could explain, are held back rather than written off unless you choose to post them.
A shelf nobody scanned is not zero. Anything in scope that nobody scanned is listed as not counted and left alone unless someone deliberately sets it to zero. Differences post through the same adjustment path as a typed count, so the books record shrinkage and overage exactly as they always have.
Every difference explained, and every name on it.
Anyone on staff can start, scan and post a count, because the person on the floor is often the one who finishes it. What keeps that safe is the record: the report names who started the count, who scanned what, who posted it and who chose each action on a unit.
Names are captured when the count is posted, and the posted report is kept exactly as it was, so a later rename or a later count never rewrites it.
What Scan Counting is not
It is not a second counting system. A scan count is a count session in the same inventory count backend as a typed one, and a location runs one count at a time, so a scan count and a typed count can never collide. A count covers the whole store or chosen categories; storage areas tag where a scan was made rather than splitting the count. UpChannels does not sell scanners, and the suggestions in the report — a transfer, a return, linking a barcode — are for a person to act on, not applied by the post.
Scan counting questions, answered
What kind of barcode scanner do I need?
Who is allowed to post a count?
What happens to a serial number we could not find?
What if a sale happens while we are counting?
Can two people count at the same time?
Does it lose scans if the Wi-Fi drops?
Which plan includes Scan Counting?
Scan Counting is one part of UpChannels
UpChannels Scan Counting is physical inventory for small retailers: start a count of the whole store or chosen categories in one click, then walk the floor with a keyboard-mode wireless barcode scanner and a screen, sounds and command barcodes built so nobody has to look at or touch the computer. Codes are matched exactly, several devices can count at once, and scans are saved on the device so a Wi-Fi drop loses nothing. Missing serial numbers are marked missing one by one rather than guessed, units reserved for customer orders are never auto-actioned, and the report explains every difference, suggests what to do, and names who started, scanned and posted. Anyone on staff can count and post, and it is included in every plan.
UpChannels is an all-in-one platform for small retailers and service businesses — sales, inventory, customers, scheduling, delivery, payments and finance in one system — and a real team that builds your website, runs your ads, and automates the busywork. Every capability below is included in the same subscription, with no integration to wire up between them.
The product moves faster than this page. UpChannels ships updates most weeks, so a description here can lag what is already in the software. Where the two disagree, the running product is the current version — tell us if you find one and we will correct the page.
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One system for the counter, the schedule, the truck and the books — and a team that will build the website, run the ads and take the busywork off you if you would rather not do it yourself. Start with the trial, or have us walk you through it first.
